Tensioners for timing belts, timing chains and accessory drive belts are well known. Some tensioners, however, are only adjustable if the fastener used to mount them is loosened. This prevents them from being adjusted on a running engine however, since it represents a serious safety hazard to operate the engine with the tensioner not completely fixedly mounted to the engine. Unfortunately, however, adjusting the tensioner on a running engine is the most accurate way to adjust the tensioner.
Another problem with some tensioners is that, if they are not adjusted correctly during the initial installation, the bolt holding them to the engine is loosened and they are repositioned. However, the loosening of the bolt essentially causes the tensioner to lose whatever proximity it had to an acceptable adjustment. Accordingly, the second installation attempt is not a refinement of the first installation attempt. It is thus no more likely to succeed than the first attempt was. Furthermore, reinstalling the tensioner in this way is time consuming.
Another problem with such tensioners is that the installation process is generally carried out manually and it does not lend itself to an automated process.
It would be advantageous to provide a tensioner that at least partially mitigated one or more of these aforementioned problems.